


Sex, Lies, and Violin Music

by bjfic_archivist



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Canon, Ethan Gold Bashing, Fluff, Season/Series 04
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-04-09
Updated: 2004-05-15
Packaged: 2018-12-27 06:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12075723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bjfic_archivist/pseuds/bjfic_archivist
Summary: An unwanted presence forces his way into Justin's life.  How will Justin get rid of this nuissance?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note from IrishCaelan, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Brian/Justin Fanfiction Archive](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Brian_Justin_Fanfiction_Archive). To preserve the archive, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in September 2017. I posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [The Brian/Justin Fanfiction Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/bjfic/profile).

When the first bouquet of flowers arrived, Justin wasn’t worried. He just needs time to get over me, the blonde reasoned. When the love letters starting coming weekly, Justin didn’t freak. He just needs to find someone else, rationalized the teen. But when Ethan began showing up at Justin’s apartment almost daily, the artist began to get nervous. This is about more than not being able to move on, realized Justin. The question was what to about it.

 

Brian noticed that Justin was spending more and more time at the loft. Not that he minded. If he had to admit it, he would say that he enjoyed Justin’s increased presence to his life. But of course he’d never have to admit that, so there was no sense thinking such foolish thoughts. The older man figured Justin’s increased presence was, of course, due to the irresistible Kinney charm and the incomparable Kinney lay. Probably the latter was the biggest reason for Justin’s hanging around all the time. Brian wouldn’t have thought there could be any other reason for Justin being around a lot more often.

So when Justin barreled through the sliding metal door at 3 o’clock on Saturday afternoon, Brian wasn’t surprised. What did surprise him was the very large suitcase that was trailing behind the young artist. Actually, very large was an understatement. It was more like a fucking enormous suitcase. 

“Who’s body is hidden in there and why are you bringing it into my loft?” Brian questioned, raising an eyebrow. He didn’t want to get in trouble for assisting in a homicide. He was in enough shit with the police already.  
Justin tried to act non-chalante. He was prepared for the Spanish Inquisition as soon as he walked through the door.   
Giving his lover his best innocent smile, with his irresistible blue eyes twinkling, Justin replied sweetly, “I just thought I’d bring a few things over. It’s a pain having to stop by my apartment every morning before my shift at the diner or before my first class. You don’t mind do you?” Justin looked up at Brian through his long eyelashes, flashing the look that he new Brian couldn’t say no to.

“A few things I wouldn’t mind. Bringing your entire apartment with you is another story.” Brian was more than a little perplexed. Something about Justin’s explanation for the Mack Truck he was lugging didn’t fit.  
Ever the drama queen, Justin retorted, “Oh. Ok. Well I’ll just take another 3 buses back across town to my apartment and won’t bother you with my presence anymore.” He looked hurt and turned to leave.

Brian grabbed blondie’s arm. Seemed like he was doing that a lot lately and it was not amusing him. “What’s with you?” He was getting annoyed. He hadn’t done anything except ask Justin why he was bringing all of his possessions with him. They hadn’t talked about Justin moving back into the loft since the fiddler fiasco had finally played itself out, so he figured he was entitled to an explanation. “I simply want to know why one day you’re so proud that you have your own place and the next you’re practically moved back in.”

With pouted lips and downcast eyes the cunning teenager purred, “I –I just want to spend more time with you, that’s all.” Brian looked at him skeptically but kissed his young lover and decided to put off further questioning about the suitcase for another time. He wasn’t entirely immune to Justin’s pretense of innocence. As long as he realized it was all pretense, what was the harm? Besides, he had more important questions that needed answers. Like why were they both still fully clothed and still standing by the door? They could both hear the bed beckoning them and far be it for them to keep the impatient mattress waiting. That wouldn’t be fair…


	2. Sex, Lies, and Violin Music

Despite the truckload of stuff he had brought over to Brian’s there were still some things that Justin needed from his apartment. Plus, there was also his best friend who lived there too. She deserved an explanation for all the flowers, candy, and heart shaped cards that kept filling up the trash. And she must be curious about why he was barely spending time in their shared apartment. So two weeks after he had come to the loft lugging his ‘body bag’, he decided to stop by his apartment and pick up the rest of his art supplies and the couple pairs of underwear he left behind. He made sure he’d come at a time when he knew Daphne would be home.

“Whoa. Look who decided to show his face amongst the commoners. Welcome to my humble abode, your highness.” Daphne curtsied when Justin walked through the door, obviously thrilled to be in the company of such greatness. Yeah. Right. Justin rolled his eyes. He understood her anger but he didn’t feel like dealing with it at that moment.  
“Daph, I know I haven’t been around much lately,” started Justin.

“Well if that isn’t the understatement of the year. I was this close to posting ads for a new roommate,” Daphne held up her thumb and pointer finger to show Justin just how close indeed she had come to finding someone to replace him.  
“I know. I’m sorry. I should have talked to you sooner. It’s just that-” Again Justin was interrupted by his wavy-haired friend.

“It’s just that Brian is a much better lay than I am. I understand, Justin, I really do. I just wish you would have told me you’re moving back in with Brian. It’s common courtesy to let one’s roommate know when one will be moving out so that one can find another roommate to replace one’s former roommate.”

Justin stared at her blankly for a minute. This from the girl who was so proud of her 700 verbal SAT score? Shaking his head, Justin replied, “I am not moving back in with Brian.”

“Oh really? Your stuff might disagree with you. It seems to think the loft is once again its home, seeing as it doesn’t hang around here anymore.” OK. Daphne really needed to give Justin the chance to finish his explanation. He really did have a valid reason for being AWOL.

“Daphne, I really do have a valid reason for being AWOL. If you’ll just let me finish my explanation, I think you’ll understand fully.” His mouth was still open, preparing to utter his next sentence only the voice he heard was not his.

“Fine. But this better be good. You haven’t even called or emailed or-” Justin was getting a little fed up so excuse him if his next sentence seemed a little curt.

“Look, Daph, be quiet and let me finish for God’s sake!” His best-friend-since-high-school was more than a little rebuffed. But she wisely kept her mouth shut. Besides, she honestly did want to hear his explanation for his absence and the mysterious little love tokens he had been receiving. She knew it was not Brian Kinney who was bestowing Justin with such gifts. She suspected these *gifts* were coming from the same man who showed up at their door nightly, even when Justin wasn’t around.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed the, uh, trinkets I’ve been receiving lately. And you may also have noticed the showing up announced of a certain fiddle playing, ex-boyfriend of mine. Well, it’s getting kind of out of hand. He’s been waiting for me outside of my classrooms, he’s been sending me all these cards and flowers. He’s constantly calling me and he sent me so many emails, my computer started delivering them to my spam folder. I don’t really know what to do so I decided spending more time at the loft would at least make me feel less creeped out. Nothing like sucking your boyfriend’s nine-inch cock to take your mind off of things.”

Daphne cringed. Too much information, but fuck her if she wouldn’t continue with the analogy. “Have you informed said nine-inch cock of the reason for your increased sucking? Maybe it could help you decide the best way to get rid of Ethan.”

“No, I haven’t told Brian yet. I’m just not sure how to broach the subject. How does one tell one’s boyfriend that one’s ex-boyfriend is stalking one?” Daphne looked at him like he was speaking a different language. Was this the same boy who had gotten a 1500 on his SAT’s? Nevermind that. She had to focus on the issue at hand.

“Justin, I really think you should tell him before he finds out on his own. Remember what happened last time you didn’t tell him about Ethan? Do you want to be thrown off a cliff again?” Daphne reasoned. Falling off a cliff seldom leaves a person in good spirits, now does it? There was reason Daphne was so good at logic puzzles.

“This time it’s different. This time I don’t WANT him around. I am going to tell Brian. I just have to find the right time. I find the best time to tell Brian something he won’t want to hear is when I’m riding-”

“-his nine-inch cock” Daphne helpfully finished her friend’s sentence. “Look, Justin, I don’t care when or how you tell Brian, just fucking tell him! Or tell him fucking. It doesn’t matter. Just make sure that these unwanted tokens of Ethan’s undying love and affection stop coming. The flowers are making me sneeze and the chocolate is making me fat! Oh, and if you happen to see the violinist, tell him How do I love thee? Let me count the ways is not the kind of poetry that wins back a person’s heart.” Daphne couldn’t help but giggle at the ridiculousness of Ethan’s ‘poetry’. She correctly assumed his poetic genius was overshadowed by his musical genius. 

“Fuck! Daph. You read the letters? Those are personal! I don’t go through your stuff!” 

Giving Justin a look that might suggest otherwise, Daphne pointed out, “Right they mean so much to you that you decided the perfect place to keep them would be the garbage can.” Justin admitted she did have a point. Still, she shouldn’t be reading or going through his stuff. Speaking of stuff, he decided it was time to collect his belongings and get back to the loft so he could tell his current boyfriend, albeit a non-conventional non-defined boyfriend, that his ex-boyfriend is stalking him. Justin speculated that there is no easy way to slip that information into a conversation. Grabbing what remained of his stuff he said goodbye to Daphne, promised to call her later, kissed her on the cheek, and left the apartment.


	3. Sex, Lies, and Violin Music

Ethan knew his separation from Justin was temporary. He knew once Justin read through his love letters and realized the flowers, red-roses in particular, were a sign of just how sorry the young violinist was, they would be making beautiful music together again. Not to mention he was sending Justin his favorite dark chocolate that he knew Justin couldn’t resist. He doubted if *Brian* knew about Justin’s love for that particular kind of chocolate. Ethan knew all Justin needed was some encouragement. The violinist had to admit, though, that Brian Kinney presented a small, teeny tiny challenge. He hadn’t really expected Justin to get back with the ad-exec. In fact, he had really expected Justin to sit around moping about what a huge mistake he had made leaving his boyfriend. Ethan didn’t know Justin had met his expectations perfectly. He had sat around moping over the huge mistake he had made in leaving his boyfriend, only the boyfriend Justin was moping over was Brian, not Ethan.

Standing in front of Daphne’s apartment building(he knew Justin living there was not permanent, that he would be living in Ethan’s apartment soon, therefore there was no reason to refer to it as Daphne and Justin’s apartment), Ethan was about to enter the lobby when the object of his affection came charging through the door. Paganini Jr. could not have asked for better timing. Justin would have certainly disagreed about the fortuity of the timing.

“Justin! Just the man I was looking for. You look great!” Ethan actually had the audacity to move in close and try to kiss the blonde. 

Pulling away in utter disgust, Justin yelled, “Stay away from me Ethan! I mean it! I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I can guarantee it’s not working. You and I are through! Now leave me the fuck alone and get on with your life!” Justin was more than a little angry so the fact that he was shouting was understandable. He couldn’t, for the life of him, remember why he had left Brian Adonis Kinney for ethan chin-rat gold. He suspected even drawing a comparison between the two would somehow screw up the universe and he certainly didn’t want to be responsible for the ramifications of throwing the planets out of alignment. 

Well, as much as he wanted to stay and play Ethan’s game, NOT, he decided it was time for him to be on his way. He turned the corner and walk/jogged to the bus stop. He had no doubt the clueless musician would be hot on his heels. Luckily the bus came almost right away so Justin was able to slip away without having to confront Ethan again. He was on his way back to the loft. He knew he had to put an end to this insanity and he knew there was only one person that could help him do it.


	4. Sex, Lies, and Violin Music

Considering how much time Justin and his ass had been spending at the loft, Brian was a little surprised that Justin or his ass hadn’t set foot in the loft since they left for Justin’s shift at the diner at 9am. It was now 10pm. Brian, of course, wasn’t worried. How silly would it be to even suggest that? He decided that his only course of action would be to get dressed in his best fuck-me outfit and go prowling. He knew a nameless trick would help to take his mind off of…off of absolutely nothing. What was there to take his mind off of? He wasn’t worried or anything. The fact that he had to take his mind off of taking his mind off of nothing did disturb him a little. He decided to push all that *stuff* into the back of his mind and get dressed. Just as he motioned to get off the bed and turn on the lights, he heard the loft door slide open. 

“Brian? Are you there?” Justin suspected Brian had already hit the bars. It was, afterall, Friday night. Brian was never home on a Friday night. The fact that all the lights were off seemed to confirm Justin’s suspicions that his lover had, indeed, gone out. Sighing, the blonde made his way up to the bedroom. He nearly fell back down the stairs when he saw his lover’s lanky form sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“Jesus!” Justin breathed heavily.

“I’m glad you’ve finally come to accept that I am your lord and savior,” Brian zinged. His weak attempt at humor did not go unnoticed by his young lover. Justin decided to take advantage of all this talk about saviors and segue into all that shit about Ethan.

“Speaking of saviors, I have something I need to talk to you about.” Brian’s curiosity was definitely piqued. He didn’t forget that he had, uh, not been worried about Justin’s whereabouts but he decided to give blondie the benefit of the doubt. Afterall, the sooner Justin got off whatever was on his silky smooth chest, the sooner Brian could run his tongue over said silky smooth chest. Giving Justin his best I’m-listening-so-regale-me-with-your-tale face, Brian perked his ears and did actually listen.

“I have a slight, um, problem; a problem that I think you might be able to help me with because you have some experience in the area, although to a MUCH lesser degree.” Justin started playing with the cowry shell bracelet, that Brian had begun wearing again, on his lover’s wrist. He couldn’t look him in the eye yet. Brian was growing impatient.

“Spit it out already! Since when are you ever at a loss for words?”

“Alright, alright. Do you remember when an incredibly cute, intelligent, luminous young man frequently sought your attention? Some people may have unfairly referred to this endearing boy as your stalker?” Brian’s expression, the patented Kinney tongue-in-cheek smirk, suggested that he did, indeed, remember the lad of whom Justin was speaking, just slightly differently.

“I remember an obnoxious, annoying, bratty snot who followed me around constantly,” Brain snarked.  
Unphased, Justin ignored the brunette’s remark and continued. “Well this young man who may or may not have stalked you at one point seems to have a stalker problem of his own. Only this stalker is not nearly as cute, intelligent, luminous, or endearing as your stalker was.” The former stalkee raised his eyebrows. So Sunshine’s getting a taste of his own medicine. Brian found that amusing. Only he didn’t. Who the fuck was stalking Justin? He hoped for Justin’s sake he was hot. Only he didn’t. 

“Who the fuck is stalking you? Is he hot?” Justin found that remark amusing. Only he didn’t.

“Um noooooo. He’s not hot, but don’t tell him that. He’d certainly disagree with you.” Hmm. Justin’s stalker appeared to be arrogant. Arrogant and not hot. Brian didn’t like the conclusion those arrows were drawing. 

Not one to jump to conclusions, Brian said, “It’s your fiddle player, isn’t it? Ian is stalking you?”

“Please Do Not call him *my* fiddle player. And his name’s Ethan, not Ian.” Ok, so perhaps correcting Present Lover on Previous Lover’s name was not the smartest move at that present juncture. Brian seemed to agree.

“I don’t give a fuck what the ukulele player’s name is. What I want to know is why the fuck is he stalking you?” Justin, intelligently, did not point out that Ian, uh Ethan, in fact plays the violin, not the ukulele. He was pretty sure Brian was aware of that anyhow. So he decided the best course of action was to answer the question.

“Well it seems that Monsieur Gold is still harboring a little crush on me. I mean, can you really blame him? I AM hard to get over.” Brian, again, was not amused. Probably because he couldn’t really blame Monsieur Gold, for not getting over Justin. But fuck him if he’d ever let Justin know that!

“No, I suppose I can’t blame him for not getting over you.” Wtf?? He looked around to see who had said that. Whoever it was sounded an awful lot like himself. Seeing no one in the room but a wide-eyed Justin and himself, Brian decided to continue as though he hadn’t said anything uncharacteristic at all. “I can blame him for stalking you. Even if maybe it would be nice for you to get a taste of your own medicine.” There! Take That! Justin took it, alright, and fuck Brian if the blonde wasn’t fucking beaming.

Reaching up to run his fingers through his lover’s auburn hair, Justin whispered, “I knew you missed me while I was gone.” Ok, Justin, stop right now. Don’t rub it in. “I bet you were miserable without me and just sat in the loft all day pining after me, staring at a picture of me all day long and crying yourself to sleep every night” Justin surmised that since he was still alive he hadn’t actually uttered that last statement out loud. He decided to take advantage of his good fortune and press forward. “The question is how do I get rid of him?”

“Perhaps I am not the best person to ask. I couldn’t exactly shake *my* stalker.” Brian lightly caressed his young lover’s check and Justin suddenly wondered why he hadn’t previously considered that. Well, nevermind that now. He HAD asked him so now they were going to come up with a plan. “Lucky for you I have a plan,” Mr. I-Couldn’t-Shake-My-Stalker said. Justin sometimes wondered if his much, much older lover did in fact have superhero powers because sometimes he really thought Brian could read his mind.

“You do?” Justin questioned, a little too questioningly for his genius lover.

“Yes, Sunshine, I do. My plan is to fuck your brains out until you forget that you ever met that sorry excuse for a musician.” Ok, so maybe Brian didn’t have mind-reading capabilities. Not that it was a bad plan. Brian was, afterall, a superhero in the sack. Justin supposed scheming to get Ethan out of his life could be put on hold until morning…


	5. Sex, Lies, and Violin Music

Freshly fucked and armed with a fool-proof plan that he and Brian had come up with last night, in between fuck sessions, Justin made his way out into the world. The day was already proving to be glorious. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the air was fresh. Ok, Ok, so it was the middle of February, snow covered the ground, and there weren’t any birds from here to Florida. But it sure felt like a bright spring day. Today would be the day that Justin would be rid of his stalker problem. Looking back on it Justin knew he should have known that his fool-proof plan, though fool-proof indeed, was not genius-proof. But right then, Justin felt like he had the world at his feet.

Skipping gayly down the sidewalk, ok, walking normally down the sidewalk (cut him some slack, he was in a very chipper mood), Justin was running over the plan in his head. Slightly preoccupied, it could be excused that Justin ran smack-dab into someone. Unlucky for him that *someone* happened to be the President of the Young Stalkers of America Club. Justin wondered if such a club actually existed. Then he realized he was being ridiculous and turned to focus his attention on the President of the YSAC. 

“Ethan! Just the man I’ve been looking for.” Make him think you want him back, Brian had said last night. Justin was surprised he remembered the first step of the plan considering Brian had come up with it while he was stroking Justin’s dick.

Ethan was surprised Justin had come around so quickly. He knew all Justin needed was a little time to come to his senses and then he’d come crawling back. Once you experienced Ethan, there was no going back. “Why Justin! Fancy meeting you here! I suppose it’s just a coincidence that you are walking(normally) down my street?” Ethan had a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. He knew damn well it was no coincidence. Justin had come for some Ethan-lovin’ and who was Ethan not to comply? Ok, so he could not comply if he wanted. He was, afterall, Ethan Gold. If you remove the ‘l’ from Gold you have God. And God can do whatever he wants, or doesn’t want to do. He was also selfless. If Justin wanted some hot Ethan-lovin’ God, uh, Gold was charitable enough to provide it. 

Ethan grabbed Justin the Lucky Bastard, and started leading him into his apartment building. “Uh, what are you doing?” the Lucky Bastard asked. 

“Didn’t you come over here because you realized what a big mistake you made leaving me and now you want to beg my forgiveness? I thought the begging could commence in OUR bed.”

Justin cringed inwardly. He knew there was a reason he never bought that Machiavellian the ends justify the means crap. It was because the means were too damned painful. But, he also knew no pain no gain. Alright, enough with the sayings. 

“Yes, Ethan, I did come here to ask (he couldn’t bring himself to say beg) for your forgiveness. But I want to take it slow. That way our *reunion* will be so much sweeter. I mean, good things happen to those who wait.” Justin suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He was spouting off cheesy proverbs AND trying to convince Ethan that he wanted him back. Maybe this would be a long day. “Why don’t we go to the diner and grab a bite to eat before we hit the sack.” Justin flashed his irresistible Sunshine smile. He knew Ethan couldn’t resist his irresistible smile. The pair walked towards the diner. Isn’t it amazing how everything in Pittsburgh is within walking distance?

Meanwhile back at the loft...

Brian had just finished the last phone call. The gang had all agreed to the plan. Well, of course they had agreed. It *was* Brian who had asked them to participate. They practically salivate at the opportunity to help Brian out. Ok, maybe not Everyone. Mel didn’t seem to thrilled, but then again she is 6 months pregnant. Ted didn’t have the opportunity to be thrilled because he is still in rehab. Emmet wasn’t thrilled about anything lately. Ben has been a little pissy because his new book didn’t get great reviews. Still, everyone was willing to help, even if Mikey and Lindsey and Hunter (who viewed this as an opportunity to get into Brian’s very form-fitting pants) were the only ones who were actually thrilled about it.

It was agreed. They would all stop by the diner within the next hour. They wouldn’t all come at once because that would be too obvious. Mel and Linds would arrive with Gus’s stroller in tow, though it couldn’t be guaranteed that Gus would actually be in the stroller. Sometimes they forgot about him. Then Mikey and the Professor would mosey on in. Emmet would bounce in soon afterwards, and finally Brian would make his grand entrance. The star of the show took a minute to reflect on how important his friends were to the plan and how he couldn’t pull this off without them. It’s a good thing none of them really have lives and they just sit around waiting for the phone to ring. Moment of reflection over, Brian knew it was time for him to get ready to put their, rather *his* plan into effect. He had to look perfect, not that he didn’t always look perfect. He just had to look extra perfect today.

Brian knew his plan would work. Ian had already proven that he puts his career before love. Brian’s mind reluctantly flashed back to that night at Babylon. He was receiving a half-assed blow job, though to be fair, all his blow jobs recently had seemed half assed. He wouldn’t venture a guess as to why that was. Anyway, he remembered seeing Justin storm towards and told his dick attachees to “fuck off’. He remembered telling Justin that he couldn’t expect someone to give up everything for a piece of blonde boy ass. If only he had known what lay ahead of him.


	6. Sex, Lies, and Violin Music

Mel and Linds arrived at the diner right on schedule. They actually remembered to bring along their son, but once at the diner they forgot about him again. In fact, at one point Gus began to cry and the two women looked around the diner to figure out who couldn’t keep their child silent. Mel sat at a booth while Lindsay sought out Deb. She needed to make sure that the larger-than-life-with-a-mouth-to-match waitress understood the plan and wouldn’t open said mouth and ruin the entire thing. 

Pretty soon Ethan and Justin entered the diner. Justin looked as though he’d rather have his lips super-glued to a lesbian’s twat than be there with Ethan but the fiddler was absolutely glowing. “I think it’s a great idea you wanted to come here, J. Now we can proclaim our love in front of all your friends. You can tell them you realize what a huge mistake you made by ever leaving me” Ethan said, leaning over to kiss Justin, who looked as if he was about to vomit. “And with any luck, Kinney-the-ex, will be here and can see what true love really looks like. Plus, this is a public place so he is unlikely to make a scene.”

Ethan apparently didn’t know public places were Brian’s scene. Justin just wanted Brian to walk through the door right then, take him home, and fuck him until he could forget this entire ordeal. Unfortunately, he had to stick to the plan. Speaking of the plan, Justin realized he should get down to business. Eyeing Mel and Lindsay at a booth Justin made his way over to join them. Like a good little stalker, Ethan followed.

“Justin! Sweetie! It’s so good to see you!” Lindsay said, a little too enthusiastically. She leaned over to kiss Justin’s cheek. Mel smiled in greeting. Her lawyer intuition made her skeptical of the plan but Lindsay had insisted that they do their part. When Lindsay got something on her mind, there was no changing it. Looking over to Justin’s right Lindsay pretended to see Ethan for the first time. “Ethan! Wow, we haven’t seen you around in a long time! How is your career going? We heard you got a new record label.”

A little perplexed at first as to how Lindsay knew he had signed on with a new label, Ethan realized that Justin had probably been keeping tabs on him and bragged to his friends about how well his violinist was doing. 

“It’s going very well, thanks for asking. I am currently working on a new CD. It’s a mixture of modern compositions and classical pieces. It’s really quite amazing! I-”

“SUNSHINE!” screeched Debbie suddenly, coming over to the booth. She had every intention of sticking to the plan that Lindsay had just informed her of, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be enthusiastic about seeing her favorite young waiter. Clad in one of her infamous t-shirts, this one bearing the sagacious message, “You Gotta Cumm Before You Can Go”, Debbie bent down to plant a sloppy kiss on Justin’s check. For once, Justin welcomed her enthusiasm with open arms.

Turning her attention to Ethan, the red-wigged waitress declared,“I see you’ve brought your violin friend. We haven’t seen you around these parts in a while. What brings you to our humble establishment?”

“Oh, well, Sunshine and I have decided to give it another go.” Ethan smugly replied. He was smiling like a leather queen at Meathook. 

Deciding it was time to get things back on track Lindsay asked, “What’s the name of your new label, Ethan?” 

“Oh, it’s called K&R Records. It’s a small, independent label based here in Pittsburgh but it has really great connections with many of the larger labels.”

“K&R Records? Justin, isn’t that the new account Brian just landed last week? I remember him saying that they wanted to update their image a little. He said it looked like they hadn’t had a new advertising campaign since Beethoven died.”

“Uh, why yes Lindsay. I do believe you're right.” Justin was an artist, not an actor. Forgive him if he didn’t sound too convincing. Luckily, Ethan was oblivious. “He was really excited about this account. He kept talking about someone named Larry Fein.”

“Larry Fein?” Ethan asked. “I know Larry Fein. He’s the CEO. I didn’t know that Brian’s working with Larry.”

“Oh yeah,” Justin said. “Apparently they get along quite well and Mr. Fein is open to any suggestion Brian makes.”

“Huh. I wonder if they’re fucking,” Ethan chuckled. Justin was not amused. But he gave a little laugh so as not to blow his cover.

Just then Michael and Ben and Hunter walked through the door. Hunter shot daggers in Justin’s direction. Although he was more than happy to help out Brian, who might reward him with a thank-you fuck, the littlest Hustler did not want to do anything that would benefit Justin. In fact, he had considered messing up the plan but his aunties threatened to turn him back onto the streets if he fucked up anything. 

Michael could not hide his disgust for the violin player and asked right off the bat, “What the hell are you doing here? Jesus, Justin, I thought you learned your lesson!”

“I have, Michael. I’ve learned that Ethan is the man I am supposed to be with. I don’t want to hurt Brian again but this is the way it has to be.”

“He’s going to be really pissed off, Justin. There’s no telling what he’ll do. You know how conniving he can be!” Michael crossed his arms and pouted his lips. Ben patted him on the head.

“Michael, that’s a risk that Ethan and I are prepared to take. Small price to pay for true love, right Ethan?” Justin was literally turning green. Lindsay was about to ask him if he was alright but he cut her a look that told her not to open her mouth. 

Ethan’s arrogance started to waver. He began to feel…nervous. This was a new emotion for him. “What could Brian do? I mean he wouldn’t do anything irrational, would he?”

Mel decided to speak up. “You obviously don’t know Brian very well.” They were counting on the fact that he didn’t. “The selfish prick does whatever he wants and doesn’t think about the consequences. He could probably ruin you, especially since he’s now working for your record label.” Melanie was actually sympathetic. She knew what it was like to be on Brian’s bad side. 

Suddenly Emmet came waltzing through the door. Emmett commanded attention immediately when he walked into a room. Unlike Brian, however, this attention did not come from his overwhelming sex appeal. Emmett got all his attention because of his brightly burning flame. Ethan noticed him right away, and truth be told he was thankful for a break from this conversation. The day wasn’t going quite as he had hoped. “Hey, isn’t that your friend Elvin?”

“Ah you mean Emmett. Yes, that’s him.” Emmet, ever the diva, was donning designer shades, a long burgundy chenille coat, and a scandalous see-through shirt. He even had an entourage. Trailing slightly behind him was Ted, looking like an accountant in his non-descript pants with his non-descript shirt, and his non-descript facial expression. Apparently he had just gotten out of rehab. The group, however, probably wouldn’t even have noticed him if he hadn’t waved frantically. This was Ted’s first post-rehab appearance but none of the diner customers seemed to really care. Emmett saw the group and went bouncing over.

“Justin, baby, how are you? You look fabulous” the diva bent over and pecked Justin on his cheek. He squeezed in next to Linds and Mel and left Ted standing awkwardly beside the table. Ethan moved over closer to Justin to make room for Ted to sit down, glad for the excuse to get closer to Justin. Justin felt a hand sliding its way up his thigh. He grimaced, feeling as though Ethan’s fingertips were searing his flesh. He wanted nothing more than to take Ethan’s fingers and crush them. Hard. But he endured it for the sake of the plan. He only had to put up with this a little bit longer and then all would be over. Ethan would be out of his life for good and Justin could go back to being happy with Brian.

Emmett continued, “Ooooh, Justin. You didn’t us you’ve been seeing your adorable violinist again.” Ethan beamed. He liked anyone who paid him a compliment.

“Well, actually Em, Ethan and I ran into each other today and we’ve, uh, we’ve decided to give it another go. I’ve realized how miserable I’ve been without him. I want him back in my life.” With that, Ethan leaned over and kissed Justin on the lips. The poor blonde thought his lips were going to fall off. They had been contaminated. Would he ever be able to kiss Brian again? He forced himself to smile even though he was overcome with a sudden sense of queasiness. 

“Oh honey! What about Brian? How did His Majesty take the news?”

“Well, actually, we haven’t told him yet. We really just got back together.”

Lindsay chimed in, “Oh, well you may get your chance sooner than you think! Brian’s meeting us here before his meeting with K&R Records. He should be here any minute.”

“Brian has an appointment with K&R today?” Ethan looked surprised, and his nervousness was growing. “Justin, baby, maybe I should go. I mean, seeing me here with you might make him upset and then he could screw up the account! You don’t want that, do you?”

“I don’t think Brian’s ever screwed up an account in his life. Besides, I want him to know now so that you and I can be together right away. We’ve been apart long enough.”

How could Ethan argue with that? He relaxed a little knowing that Justin and he would soon be consummating their reunification. He leaned over and passionately kissed Justin.

At that opportune moment, Brian walked through the door. This is when things got interesting.


	7. Sex, Lies, and Violin Music

Dressed impeccably in Armani, Brian commanded the attention of every soul (therefore excluding Ethan) in the diner. He was smiling and looking as smug as ever. Until he saw The Fiddler.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Brian interrogated of his blonde lover. Brian was a very good actor, too good, and he seemed genuinely pissed off. The tall brunette crossed the diner to the booth where the gang was seated in literally 3 steps. Ethan put his arm around Justin’s shoulders and took his hand in his own. Whatever color had been left in Justin’s cheeks was now thoroughly drained.

“Justin,” Brian growled through gritted teeth, “Why does THAT have its arm around YOU?” Justin had to suppress a laugh at Brian referring to Ethan as THAT. It was a nice, appropriate, added touch.

“Excuse me, Brian, but you will not talk about me like that!” THAT was fuming. Didn’t Brian know who he was? How dare he speak about Ethan Gold in that manner!

“Hey, Fiddler, don’t you have a roof to fall off of?” Turning back to his lover Brian spoke, “You haven’t answered my question, Sunshine. Why. The. Fuck. Is. Its. Arm. Around. You?” Brian was surprisingly calm, slowly annunciating each word.

“Oh, Brian, we didn’t want you to find out this way but if this is where it has to happen then so be it. Ethan and I are getting back together. I love him!” Justin rapidly rushed out these words, almost certain he was going to ralph. Brian noticed Justin looked sick and understood perfectly. He felt nauseated simply being in such a close vicinity to Ian. OK. Time to speed things along.

“Um, WHAT?” Brian’s cool demeanor finally melted. He was now erupting. “I don’t think so, Sonny Boy!”

Ethan piped up, “You can’t tell him what to do! We’re in love and you can’t stop us from being together!” He sounded like a petulant five-year. He even stomped his foot. Whining was the only way Ethan knew how to deal when things didn’t go as he wanted them to. Interesting how he and Mikey were a lot alike in that respect. 

“Oh yeah? I have a meeting with Larry Fein in half an hour. He mentioned you. Said your mediocre talent isn’t pulling in enough money. They’re thinking of releasing you. I’m sure with a little encouragement from the person IN CHARGE of K&R’s advertising campaign they would turn those thoughts into actions!”

“You wouldn’t!?!” The petulant five-year old was aghast! Brian wouldn’t do that, would he? Ethan suddenly felt as sick as Justin.

“Oh wouldn’t I?” the scheming ad-exec asked. “You will not get the better of me again!”

Ethan was, for once, speechless, much to the pleasure of everyone around him. To be with Justin, he’d have to sacrifice his entire career! He had worked his whole life to get to where he was now- loser of the Heifitz competition, signed with some second rate label, and living in a crappy-ass apartment with a smelly cat. Huh. Maybe he hadn’t come as far as he thought. Well, obviously that’s just because he’s been holding back. He hadn’t been playing well since Justin left him. The world needs the music of Ethan Gold and he, ever the philanthropist, would deliver it to them, with Justin by his side! 

“I made the mistake of choosing my career over love once before. I will not make that mistake again. Come on Justin, we’re leaving.” Ethan grabbed Justin’s arm and pulled him towards the door.

Um, WHAT? This was DEFINITELY not part of the plan. Justin was being dragged out of the diner by his fiddler follower! The artist was so shocked with the turn of events that he didn’t even struggle with the musician. Brian froze. This was not supposed to happen. That bucket of slime was supposed to choose his career over Justin. Since when had he decided love was more important than his stupid career? This was not happening.

The rest of the gang was equally surprised, though Mikey had a smile on his face. They all wondered what Brian would do next, sure that he wouldn’t just let Ethan walk away with Justin, again.


	8. Sex, Lies, and Violin Music

Coming back to reality, Brian shook his head and calculated his next move. Right before the two “lovebirds” reached the door Brian made his move.

“Stop right there.” Justin, who finally realized what was happening, looked imploringly at his lover. He was begging Brian with his baby-blue eyes to get him the fuck out of this situation. “Take your grubby hands off my boyfriend NOW!” Rage came to the rescue. Ethan spun around and glared at the superhero.

Whoa. The whole diner did a double take. Had Brian Kinney, the stud of Liberty Avenue, master of remaining emotionally unattached, staunch adherent to the “never the same ones twice” philosophy, just used the words ‘my boyfriend’ without preceding them with non-defined, non-conventional? Some people felt as if they were going to faint. Others began to cry. As it was, the Earth spun off of its axis. It, too, was shocked. 

Ethan was angry. Kinney would not get in the way. He removed his slimy hand from Justin so that he could gesture towards Brian. As soon as his fingers slipped away from Justin, the blonde sprinted over to his non-non-defined non-non-convetntional boyfriend. He wrapped his arms really tight around Brian’s waist and refused to let go, even when Brian began to turn blue from lack of oxygen. Finally relenting a little after he could be Brian getting faint, Justin turned to face the angry violinist.

“What is the meaning of this?” the angry violinist asked, sounding like he belonged in a leather-bound nineteenth century novel. “I thought we were going to be together. We’re meant to be, J, you and me. Forever and always”

“Do you see the man I’m hugging right now? Why in the world would you think I’d leave him for you?” The disgust in his voice could not be anymore obvious. 

“Because you did it once before” Ethan reminded Justin.

Oh yeah. Justin had tried very hard to forget that particular egregious error in judgment so Ethan’s not-so-kind reminder was unwelcome. Besides, that was one mistake he would never repeat.

“Yeah, well that is a mistake I will never repeat.”   
Ethan, for once, was speechless. What just happened here? One minute he and Justin are madly in love, the next minute Justin’s running to Kinney? Something was definitely wrong. Justin must be brainwashed. That was the only rational explanation. 

“What’s with you, J? Kinney obviously has some kind of spell over you. Let’s just leave right now and forget he ever arrived. We’ll go home, make love, and forget we were ever separated.”

Justin, along with all the diner customers, cringed. Picturing Ethan making love to anyone, especially their Boy Wonder, was not a thought any of them wanted to entertain.   
“I’m not going anywhere with you, Ethan!” the artist spat.

Ethan was near tears. He was used to getting what he wanted. “What about our love? It was supposed to last for an eternity.”

Justin smiled. “Yeah, well eternities aren’t as long as they to be.” Brian smirked and looked at Justin. That was not the first time those words were uttered.

Communicating with their eyes, Brian and Justin decided they’d had enough of this charade. They decided to blow the joint so they could go home and blow something else. Brian took Justin’s hand and led him towards the door. This was the second time in 5 minutes Justin was being pulled out of the diner. This time, however, the man doing the puling was the man he was supposed to be leaving with.

Ethan was dumbfounded. He looked rather like a thirsty dog with his mouth opened, tongue hanging out, breathing heavily. If one listened closely enough one could here pitiful violin music wailing in the background. It’s sad when violins are broken out for a violinist. The diner patrons pitied him for a moment. The more pathetic of them (therefore including Mikey) had hoped that Justin would leave with Ethan, leaving Brian alone and available. Most of them, however, were relieved that all was again right with the world as Justin and Brian were together and going home to fuck. A collective sigh swept through the diner as the musician made his way, head hung, out of the diner, never to be seen or heard from again.


	9. Sex, Lies, and Violin Music

That night at the loft…

After a particularly satisfying fuck session Brian and Justin lay in their bed sharing a joint. Brian rolled over to face Justin.

“I hope you’ve learned your lesson,” smugly commented the ad-exec.

“Um, excuse me? What lesson was there to learn?” Justin was thoroughly perplexed. It wasn’t his fault Ethan had stalked him and that his and Brian’s ingenious plan to get rid of Ethan hadn’t gone quite as planned.

Brian shook his head. He couldn’t believe the young blonde hadn’t figured out he was being punished. “Duh, Sunshine. The universe punishes you when you do something you’re not supposed to.” 

“Huh. And what exactly did I do that I wasn’t supposed to?”

“I’ll tell you a little story, maybe you’ll be able to figure it out. Once upon a time there was a struggling artist who was a favorite companion of a handsome prince. One day, a minstrel came to court. The young blonde artist was enchanted by the musician’s romantic words and beautiful music. The blonde left the comfort and luxury of the castle and took off for parts unknown with the minstrel. For a while the blonde got what he wanted but one day he realized the minstrel’s words were empty and his music was superficial. The blonde wondered if he could go back to his prince charming and live happily after. Luckily, the prince was a very gracious man and accepted the young artist back into his life. Although the young man eventually realized he had made an egregious error in judgment when he left with the minstrel, and found his way back to his handsome prince, the gods decided he needed to be punished for having hurt the prince in the first place. So, they sent the minstrel back to torment him. The prince and the artist schemed to get rid of the musician, and although things didn’t go quite as they had planned, the minstrel was eventually banished from the kingdom. The prince and the artist could be happy once again and the artist learned his lesson. He belonged by the handsome prince’s side forever and always.”

Justin’s jaw hit the floor as he stared at the man beside him in bed. Who was this person who looked so much like his lover? Whoever it was had just turned their relationship into a fairy-tale and admitted that he wanted Justin by his side “forever and always”. He realized it was most likely the pot talking, though he could get used to this pod-Brian.

“Was that a Brothers Grimm tale? I think I’ve heard it somewhere before.”

“Yeah, it’s one of Gus’s favorites. There are actually two versions of it. In the other version the prince locks the young artist in a tower after he comes back so that he can never escape again. Personally, I prefer that version.” For that remark the handsome prince got a pinch on his royal thigh. 

“Well, I’m glad that the young, blonde artist learned his lesson and realized his place was with his prince charming” quipped the young, blonde artist

“Me too.” With that, the prince and the artist did what they do best- made love in their castle under the orange glow of the setting sun, even if it was ridiculously romantic. The universe was happy.


End file.
